Naming shame – silencing strata committee bullies
Sometimes living in strata is like a soap opera …occasionally it feels like something much more sinister. A friend lives in a small block of about 50 units that trundles…
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How Airbnb’s figures on rentals have been fudged
Airbnb, with a few minor self-interested exceptions, seem to be going it alone with their objections to the holiday letting registries proposed for NSW and now WA. And they are…
Flammable cladding crisis solved – phoenix it!
The fire engineer who approved the Neo 200 building in Melbourne – the most recent high-rise cladding fire in Australia – has gone to court to try to have his…
More curbs on way for Airbnb hosts as WA plans register and by-laws
Barriers are going up across Australia in an effort to curb the out-of-control spread of illegal holiday lets, with both NSW and now WA considering strata scheme by-law bans, mandatory…
Flat Chat Wrap #42 – Strata chatting, straight out of the box
For years I have been struck by the irony of the connection between communication and community falling asunder at the doors of apartment blocks. If there was anywhere that not…
From the Forum: Who pays when running repairs are left to rot?
Everybody knows that the owners corporation (body corporate) has to pay to repair and maintain common property (if you didn’t, you do now.) Oh, and by the way, YOU are…
PODCAST: Stratabox and building communities through communication
For years I have been struck by the irony of the connection (or lack thereof) between communication and community and how it seems to fall asunder at the doors of…
Ticking clocks and closing windows – time to deal with defects
Towards the end of last century, around about the time state governments started allowing apartment block developers to appoint their preferred certifiers, launching the self-certification scandal, HIH Insurance collapsed. HIH…
Forum is working … after a ‘Lost Weekend’
The Flat Chat Forum reno has taken place … kind of … almost. The reason it all looks exactly the same as before is becasue it is. At first, the…
Flat Chat Wrap #41 – The future of apartments … bees vs locusts
We write and talk a lot about property developers in Flat Chat – not often in positive terms – but we rarely get the chance to hear their side of…
From the Forum: Airbnb budget by-law and four reno posers
We’re taking moment before our Forum questions this week to urge you not to miss the opportunity to get a cut-price, off-the-peg by-law to prevent Airbnb and other short-term holiday…
PODCAST: The buzz on strata – it’s locusts V bees
Are you a locust or a bee? Those are the divisions appearing between residents in Australia as many of us move from the more acquisitive, self-centred lifestyle typified by the…